[OVERVIEW]
* Alomomola is one of the most underrated and often overlooked defensive Pokemon in OU.
* It has pretty much everything that a defensive Pokemon could want—a gigantic HP stat, good Defense, good defensive Water typing, important support moves, and an invaluable ability in Regenerator.
* However, said qualities leave Alomomola very passive and unable to directly threaten any Pokemon outside of slowly wearing them down with status moves. This can give Pokemon like Subsitute + Dragon Dance Mega Gyarados opportunities to take advantage of it.
* The amount of threatening Electric-type threats in the tier, such as Thundurus and Tapu Koko, also pose a big issue for it, so it requires very specialized teammates to work to its full extent.
[SET]
name: Defensive Utility
move 1: Scald
move 2: Wish
move 3: Protect
move 4: Toxic / Knock Off
item: Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
ability: Regenerator
nature: Calm
evs: 36 HP / 220 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Scald lets Alomomola chip away at enemies that can't force you out; its chance to burn the foe cripples physical attackers as well as Pokemon that are immune to Toxic, one of the most common status conditions used by the stall and balance teams Alomomola fits best on.
* Wish provides Alomomola with reliable recovery, allowing it to pass gigantic Wishes to its teammates.
* Protect is often used in tandem with Wish when Alomomola tries to heal itself to prevent it from fainting. It is also great for scouting coverage moves on enemy Pokemon, get a free turn of Leftovers recovery, stall Toxic or burn turns on the enemy Pokemon, and exploit Choice-locked Pokemon.
* Toxic is the preferred move in the last slot due to the burn nerf. It lets Alomomola cover a wide range of switch-ins, such as Grass-, Dragon-, and Water-types, by enabling it to wear down defensive Pokemon and Pokemon that aren't bothered by a Scald burn, like special sweepers.
* Knock Off is a viable option if you already have other means of spreading Toxic or don't find it important for your team's gameplan. It is a very spammable move and can cripple a plethora of Pokemon that rely on their item, both defensively and offensively.
Set Details
========
* The EV spread ets Alomomola check a plethora of threats, including Pheromosa and +2 Offensive Mega Scizor, as well as special attackers like Ash-Greninja and Nihilego.
* Due to its high base HP stat, it is more beneficial to invest in Defense and Special Defense because even though increasing HP would result in bigger Wishes passed, the only Pokemon that benefits from this is Chansey, which has reliable recovery and bulk on its own.
* 36 HP EVs nets Alomomola an additional point of Leftovers recovery; however, if you run Rocky Helmet, you can use those EVs to max out Defense and Special Defense instead.
* Regenerator allows Alomomola it to heal itself when switching out.
* Leftovers, coupled with Regenerator, allows Alomomola to recover a substantial amount of HP without having to use a recovery move.
* Alternatively, Rocky Helmet punishes physical attackers, as well as the many U-turn users, like Mega Scizor, Genesect, Pheromosa, and Tapu Koko. However, it requires you to play more defensively, though, because Alomomola will be forced to use Wish and/or switch out to activate Regenerator a lot more often than it would have to if it ran Leftovers.
Usage Tips
========
* Switch Alomomola into Pokemon that can't do much of it, such as physical attackers and weaker special attackers lacking Electric-type coverage in as much as possible.
* Cripple switch-ins with Toxic, Knock Off, or Scald. You can also use the free turns Alomomola generates by using Wish preemptively, so it can switch to a check to the Pokemon switching in.
* Don't spam Scald recklessly against defensive teams, as often you would rather poison the foe.
* Because Alomomola will be switching a lot, try to keep it as healthy as possible, especially by not having entry hazards on your side of the field. Regenerator does help a lot with this issue, but nevertheless, you should still not play carelessly.
* If you are using Rocky Helmet, be on the lookout for U-turn users and switch into them whenever you predict a U-u-turn.
Team Options
========
* Since Alomomola works well on Stall teams, a lot of the staples of this archetype work well with it. Good examples are special walls like Chansey and Mantine, both of which complement it nicely by checking the special threats Alomomola cannot.
* Alolan Marowak makes for a perfect partner thanks to its Lightning Rod ability, which grants it an immunity to Electric-type moves, and because it heavily benefits from Wish. It also generally fits on every archetype Alomomola is commonly used on, ranging from full stall to bulky offense.
* Unaware users, Haze users, and Phazers can help against that Pokemon that use Alomomola as fodder, such as Keldeo.
* Because of the many switches Alomomola forces, entry hazard setters will help whittle down the enemy team. Skarmory can set up both Stealth Rock and Spikes but shares an Electric-type weakness. Chansey can use Stealth Rock to wear down the opposition, while Pokemon like Ferrothorn can also set up Stealth Rock and Spikes and act as an Electric-resistant Pokemon.
* Defog users such as Mantine and Skarmory or spinners such as Excadrill work well with Alomomola, as they prevent it from being worn down.
* Other Regenerator Pokemon like Amoonguss, Tangrowth, and Tornadus-T make great teammates for a Regenerator core.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Healing Wish is an option on offensively oriented teams, because it can give your sweepers a second chance to do so. However, Wish is able fulfil a very similar role without sacrificing Alomomola.
* Refresh can be used to cure Alomomola of status conditions, but Regenerator makes up for the HP from burn and poison anyway.
* Light Screen can work on defensive builds if your team is weak to strong special sweepers and lets setup sweepers boost more freely on offensive teams.
* Mirror Coat and maximum Special Defense investment allows Alomomola to take a hard hit from Mega Charizard Y, Latios, Latias, and Tapu Lele and retaliate with a twice-as-hard move.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Strong Special Attackers**: While Alomomola can definitely take some special attacks, many dedicated special breakers—after a boost or two—can force it out and leave it in need of checking them in another way.
**Electric- and Grass-types**: Due to Alomomola's mono-Water typing, it struggles against many hard-hitting threats in the tier, such as Tapu Koko, Xurkitree, and Tapu Bulu.
**Taunt**: Taunt leaves Alomomola virtually useless in many situations, since Scald fails to threaten something outside of the Attack drop from a burn, none of Alomomola's utility moves can be used.
**Setup Sweepers**: Due to its passive nature, many Pokemon can use Alomomola as setup fodder and even become threaten a sweep after accumulating a couple of boosts. This applies especially to Pokemon that are not affected by Toxic and/or don't mind Scald burns, such as Substitute Pokemon like Gyarados, and special attackers like Keldeo.
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